Law School Academic Support Blog

Your Grades Don't Define You

Some of you are getting your Fall grades, and for some of you this is the first time in getting law school grades. So let me assure you of something – your grades do not define you. If your grades make you happy, you should be proud. But they don’t define you. If your grades were not what you had hoped for, your grades do not define you. Your actions, the way you treat classmates, the cases you take on, the way you treat future clients and future colleagues – all of these things will define you. But your grades are not on that list.

Now, having said that, I’m well aware that grades are important, they help you get on things like law review, obtain clerkships and obtain your first jobs. So yes, they are important. But no, they do not define you.

So, if your grades are less than stellar, or not what you were hoping, pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes. The key is to not dwell on the mistakes, but learn from them. What can you do in the Spring to bring those grades up? Or, if you are happy with the grades, ensure that Spring grades are just as good? Try the following:

1. Meet with your professors and review your exams. Even if you did fairly well, it’s worth looking over your exams with your professors. Talk about what you did well, and where you can improve. Many students focus on the fact that they correctly issue spotted, or came to the “correct” conclusion, when in reality, most professors are also looking at things like organization, and most importantly, how you came to the conclusions that you did!

Don’t be afraid to reach out. I talk to many students who are embarrassed, or a bit nervous. Your professors want you to improve and succeed. It is part of their job to review these exams with you, so please approach them!

A good starting point is this CALI lesson: How to Learn from Exams, by Melissa A Hale

https://www.cali.org/lesson/18208

2. Take an honest look at this past semester, and self assess. This is incredibly important for your law school career, but also for your legal career. Learning to self assess performance is an invaluable skill that we all need.

• Did you read and brief all cases?
• How much time did you spend studying for each class?
• Did you meet with your professors during the semester, and talk about things you struggled to understand?
• Did you complete practice exams? If so, how many?
• Did you start outlining early or late?

Be honest with yourself in all of these questions. In addition ,think about other things that might have been happening, especially since we are currently in a pandemic:

• How was your mental health?
• Do you have test taking anxiety?
• Did you have a good place to study?
• If you are easily distracted, did you find ways to deal with that anxiety?
• Were there any life events that interfered with studying? Such as a break up, a death in the family, other personal turmoil? A health concern or health issue?

Again, this is a self reflection, so be completely honest. There is a CALI lessons that helps lead you through these issues, written by Renee Nicole Allen -  Semester Self Assessment and Reflection - https://www.cali.org/lesson/18326

In addition, try the following:

Grit, Growth, and Why it matters, by Melissa A. Hale

https://www.cali.org/lesson/18485

Assessing Your Own Work, by Allie Robbins

https://www.cali.org/lesson/18101

Above all else, remember that while grades might open up some opportunities for some, even a few years into the future, they will not matter. And also remember, you can always learn and grow – whether you want to improve on something you did well, or learn from mistakes.

(Melissa Hale)

Assistant Professor in Academic Success Program at Brooklyn Law School

Brooklyn Law School
Assistant Professor, Academic Success Program

Brooklyn Law School seeks candidates for an Assistant Professor of its Academic Success Program. We anticipate this individual starting employment no later than July 2021 but are willing to entertain earlier start dates. Reporting to the Director, the Assistant Professor will

• Oversee and teach skills and intervention courses and programs for both first-year and upper-division students;

• Teach pre-orientation programs for entering students, including the Summer Legal Process Program;

• Serve a student population composed of traditional 3-year and extended 4-year JD students as well as internationally-trained LLM students;

• Assess the efficacy of academic support efforts and inform the faculty and greater law school community on initiatives to promote better learning outcomes, including bar exam success;

• Assist the Director and Assistant Director in overall management of the Academic Success Program.

Applicants must articulate a clear vision for Brooklyn Law School’s efforts to build foundational skills in students that will serve them throughout law school and on the bar exam. The Assistant Professor must stay abreast of developments in the national academic support field and have a critical eye for selecting strategic partners and personnel to contribute to the Academic Success Program’s initiatives. Applicants must meaningfully contribute to a supportive, innovative, and thoughtfully structured team environment in Academic Success. The Assistant Professor also advises the faculty and administration as to student engagement and skills development and is expected to create and to participate in collaborative initiatives across all parts of the faculty to create better learning environments. Most notably, the Assistant Professor must have a keen understanding of the academic engagement challenges within the current generation of law students and a viable, thoughtful strategy for addressing them. Moreover, the Assistant Professor must demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for working with students who seek or require academic enhancement. Accordingly, the Assistant Professor must possess the ability to build meaningful learning relationships with all students.

The salary of the Assistant Professor of the Academic Success Program will be commensurate with experience. At a minimum, candidates must possess a J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school and admission to a state bar. We prefer at least one year of law teaching experience, preferably in an in-school bar preparation or academic success program (as academic success faculty, staff, and/or as peer educator). We are especially interested in candidates who will enhance the diversity of our faculty and who reflect our school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in legal education. This is a one-year or two-year faculty appointment, commensurate with experience.

Following the initial appointment, this individual may be eligible for the long-term contract track currently being designed for academic success faculty. On that track, scholarship is a requirement for retention. To support our academic success faculty, this position is immediately eligible for generous summer research stipend support as well as full participation in the Law School’s robust and vibrant scholarship development programming. The Assistant Professor’s yearly course and programming load will be balanced to ensure adequate downtime to develop scholarship.

The deadline for applications is February 28, 2021. However, we encourage applicants to forward their materials as early as possible to ensure full consideration by the hiring committee. We will conduct initial screening interviews for qualified candidates on a rolling basis. Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and list of at least three (3) professional references who can attest to an applicant’s teaching ability and potential for future teaching excellence. Please send applications to Shane Dizon, Associate Professor of Academic Success, at [email protected].

Interventions to Overcome Barriers to Learning

I sometimes think that those who fall behind were left behind.  

That might be particularly true in legal education.  

Learning well is also about being well, about finding a place within the community of learners to belong, about developing the confidence that one has what it takes to thrive in law school.  And there's research to bear this out, especially with respect to bar exam performance.  

According to researchers on successful mindset interventions for bar takers:  

"As Mindsets in Legal Education (MILE) researchers, we designed, administered, and evaluated the online productive mindset intervention referred to as the California Bar Exam Strategies and Stories Program (the program). In partnership with the State Bar of California (SBC), we streamlined and simplified the enrollment process while improving participation on the July 2018 and July 2019 California bar exams.

1. Proven Effectiveness: Working closely with the SBC, we conducted a preliminary analysis of the program in January 2020. The results suggest that the program increases the likelihood of passing the bar exam, after controlling for LSAT and GPA, by between 6.8 to 9.6 percent, depending on the analysis conducted.

2. Boost for First-Generation and Underrepresented Minority Students: The program particularly helped applicants who were first-gen college students and underrepresented minorities, according to our analyses.

3. Reductions in Psychological Friction: Our analyses suggest that the productive mindset intervention succeeded by reducing psychological friction. Among applicants studying for the exam, it fostered stress-is-enhancing and growth mindsets that helped them succeed in the face of stress, anxiety, and mistakes." 

--" "Evaluating Productive Mindset Interventions that Promote Excellence once on California's Bar Exam"

Too often, I think that the law school experience is filled with needless "psychological friction."  That was certainly true of my law school experience.  

As one turning forty in law school, I spent most of my time alone, worried about how to keep up, worried about being called on in classes, worried about being shown up to be an imposer, utterly unsuitable for the practice of law. Because of that experience, which still bites into my heart, I find myself often wondering what my students are facing, especially in the midst of this on-going pandemic.  

Rather than wondering, perhaps I should ask? Perhaps I should listen more?  Perhaps I should...  

It's really up to us to help our students not fall behind by being left behind.  That's a tremendous challenge...and responsibility...for us as legal educators.  (Scott Johns).

Sometimes, "One Must First Make a Mistake and Then Put It Right."

There is something about this time of year – perhaps the sweeping winter landscape, perhaps the complex and dramatic tale that is law school – something that makes me think of the golden age of Russian literature. Where would jurisprudence be without The Government Inspector or Crime and Punishment? And of course, the most important line in literature for academic success professionals comes at the start of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina:

                Happy families are all alike.  Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The idea captured in this line has been recognized as a generalizable “Anna Karenina Principle”: In many systems, enterprises, or entities, a significant flaw in one or any combination of factors can lead to failure, while success depends on a certain similarity of strength in each of those factors. There is a satisfying monotony to success. But there are thousands of ways to fall short.

Tolstoy was not the first to think of this, or even to articulate it.  Aristotle says, in his unputdownable classic Nicomachean Ethics, put it this way:

                It is possible to fail in many ways . . . while to succeed is possible only in one way.

It’s not clear how much credence we should give to this work – no one even knows for sure which Nicomachus the book was dedicated to, since both Aristotle’s father and his son had that name – and we surely can’t take literally the intimation that everyone with a 3.5 GPA or above is exactly alike. But just as surely, each unhappy law student is unhappy in their own way.

Drawing a parallel between struggling law students and Anna Karenina might seem thoughtless or even risky, given Anna’s unhappy ending in the second-to-last part of the book. But there’s a reason the book does not end there. In the final part of the book, Levin, friend of Anna’s brother, comes to realize that, despite his past familial unhappiness, he has the capacity to build a happy family, despite the ways in which he knows he may continue to fall short, because he has the power to continue to keep working at it.

Besides evoking the Russian steppes (well, at least here in Buffalo), this time of year also delivers fall semester grades, and, thus, some unhappy law students. It is one of the privileges and challenges of this job that I get to know students well enough to learn their own ways of being unhappy. There is a kind of shivery tension in the air as students work with me, often for the first time since arriving at law school, to face their unhappy grades, with hope or shame or defiance or resignation. No one wants to remain unhappy, but not everyone wants to hear that their way of being unhappy is unique. To be sure, some students do want to hear that; individuality can be inspiring.  But other students are hoping for the magic bullet, the one tool or book or trick or advice that will fix every problem. Still other students are discouraged by the idea that their issue, or combination of issues, makes them unique, as if that is proof of their fear that they alone among their classmates were not really meant for law school. The most important thing to remind all these students is that uncovering how each of them is unique is the first step towards helping them to discover how to be happy law students.

And, after all, as Tolstoy also said in Anna Karenina:

                Spring is the time of plans and projects.

[Bill MacDonald]

Rounding the Turn for the February Bar!!!

As I prepared the emails I send to my students this week, I realized there are only 4 weeks of studying left.  This bar season seems to be flying by.  For all of you taking the bar, I copied a version of the email encouragement I send to my students around this time.  You have been through unprecedented times, and you only have a few weeks left.  Keep up the good work.

 

"Congratulate Yourself Because You Have Made it a Long Way!!!

The Marathon is Nearing the End.  You Only Have . . .

4 WEEKS LEFT!!!!!

You made it a long way.  Bar Review is a marathon, but you are closing in on the finish line.  You only have a little longer in the class, and then you self-study the last few weeks.  If you haven’t already, this is definitely the time to eliminate distractions and focus on bar review. 

Many of you are now getting nervous about your MBE scores and what you will do on the essays, and YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!  The vast majority of bar examinees are getting nervous at this point.  Use your fellow classmates as support through this process.  Contact us at the law school if you need help.  This is a hard process, made even harder by your class’ circumstances.  However, we are here for you in any way we can.

. . . (OCU specific info)

You can still improve your MBE score during the last few weeks of bar review by spending a few extra minutes at night studying small sub-topics you are struggling with (ie – hearsay, negligence, etc.)  You will learn more law, which will improve your MBE scores.

Lastly, complete your practice essay exams and send them in for feedback.  You are approaching the last leg of the race, it is time to turn on another gear.  Prepare to Conquer the Bar!!!  Remember, You Have the Knowledge, Skills, and Ability to Pass the Bar!!"

(Steven Foster)

 

Best School Moments

Education week interviewed students and posted their responses to the question "What was the best moment you ever had in the classroom?"  You can read the 3rd part in the series here.  It has 3 students' responses, and I think they are illuminating.  Here are quick excerpts:

Student 1 - Something teachers or students can learn from my experience is that we have to overcome our fears and not let them control ourselves because we can’t know our capabilities if we are afraid.

Student 2 - When I wrote my first poem in freshman year. I realized that it was fun and unique. I felt like I wanted to write more and more. When I performed my first poem to that class I found my passion.

Student 3 - This experience showed me the extent a relationship with your classmates and your teacher can go....

While not surprising, I noticed that none of the students talked about a specific piece of information.  Only one of them referred to teaching style (#3), and even that student came away highlighting the relationship with students and the teacher.  I wanted to highlight these responses as we enter our classrooms (many of which are virtual).  Students will need doctrinal information, but in the end, they will remember more about the relationship and human skills we helped them build.  They probably won't remember all those rules after the bar exam, but they will remember the time we took to help them prepare.  None of our classes will be perfect this semester, but we can be the professor that makes a lasting difference with the connection we make with them.  Have a great semester!

(Steven Foster)

Save the Date - Webinar "Leveraging Student Engagement to Maximize Student Success" Jan 26, 2021

There's exciting research concerning the relationship between student engagement, academic success, and bar exam success.  

In brief, according to AccessLex, research findings "suggest[] the probability of bar passage is highest not only among those who consistently perform well in law school, but also among those who have a rocky start but improve along the way."  And, based on work of the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) organization and others, student engagement is a powerful tool that can lend a hand in helping students improve academic performance.  

Now, AccessLex and LSSSE are looking to partner with more law schools to conduct further empirical research into this exciting field of possibilities.  [In my mind, I picture a triangle to illustrate the learning relationship: The Legal Education "Learning Triangle" ].  

To learn more, AccessLex and LSSSE is hosting a free webinar on January 26, at 2 pm EST.  If you've ever wondered about the relationship between student engagement and success, now's the chance to learn more.  And, now's the chance to participate in empirical research for the public good.  

Here's the link for more details and to register:

https://www.accesslex.org/accesslex-lssse-bar-exam-success-initiative

Save the Date for ASP Writers' Block Spring 2021

ASP Writers' Block is happening again this semester thanks to Kris Franklin.  These are times to carve out to work independently yet together on the kind of work that nurtures us, yet tends to end up on the bottom of an urgent to-do list. We meet together for two pomodoro work cycles of 25 minutes each, and some recap/mutual support at the end. Folks have used this time to read, research or draft scholarship, make journal entries, read poetry, or complete some mundane tasks in the company of friends. To accommodate our demanding schedules and varying time zones we have been meeting on Fridays at 11 am est/8am pst. For this semester, please mark your calendars for:

• Friday, February 5^th
• Friday, March 5^th
• Friday, April 9^th

Zoom links to follow.

 

Picture Learning

I wonder.  Perhaps this diagram might serve as a visual tool to help students reflect on learning.  After all, many students are quite stressed by first semester grades.  Here's a possible diagram, artistically captured by the handwork of Prof. Betty Bobbit Byrne (Paulkner University), that might just help students explore possible ways to improve their learning.  Feel free to share with your students.  (Scott Johns).

 

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

ASP Foundational Scholarship Series:  This series focuses on the seminal ASP/ Bar Exam scholarship that contributed to the development of academic and bar support best practices.  

For the first-ever post in this series, I was stuck between two choices.  So, I chose both:  

1.    Knaplund & Sanders, The Art and Science of Academic Support, 45 J. Legal Educ. 157 (1995). 

This article was one of the earliest and most robust empirical analyses of law school academic support programs.  It helped ASP faculty defend the then-controversial pedagogy of "contextualized academic support" and answer the question "Why should we spend money on an ASP?"

From the introduction:

• Our analysis of seven distinct academic support initiatives at UCLA shows that support can substantially and demonstrably improve both short-term and long-term academic performance, but the effects vary markedly across UCLA's programs.

• The variation in academic effectiveness across UCLA's programs follows distinct patterns that yield definite guidance on the pedagogy of academic support.

• We found some evidence that academic support programs can have valuable benefits apart from their impact on grades.

2.     Russell McClain, Helping Our Students Reach Their Full Potential: The Insidious Consequences of Ignoring Stereotype Threat, 17 Rutgers Race & L. Rev. 1 (2016).

Coupled with Professor McClain's conference presentations on this subject and a related TEDx Talk, this article was the first to analyze the phenomenon of stereotype threat specifically as it pertains to law students.  It serves as a crucial resource for ASP faculty, and all others, to understand their potential in ameliorating the effects of implicit bias in the law school classroom.

From the article abstract:

A psychological phenomenon may be a significant cause of academic underachievement by minorities in law school. This phenomenon, called stereotype threat, occurs as a result of the fear of confirming a negative group stereotype....  When subject to this threat — as a consequence of being confronted with environmental or explicit triggers — people do worse in academic settings than they otherwise are capable of doing. In this article, I explore the implications of the research on stereotype threat for law schools and make several recommendations to deal with the threat.

There are natural implications for law school admissions, of course. If a portion of our applicant pool is affected by stereotype threat, then we cannot trust the accuracy of the metrics we typically use in law school admissions, i.e., prior academic performance and LSAT scores of law school applicants. Indeed, those credentials actually may under-evaluate the academic potential of these applicants, who are often minority students. This should cause law schools to reevaluate their admissions policies.

After students are admitted, law school provides fertile ground within which stereotype threat can flourish. This, of course, means that the performance of minorities in law school — in class, on exams, and in other areas — is likely to be diminished, such that many minorities will not perform up to their academic capacity. And, obviously, we would expect this same dynamic to play out on the bar exam.

Law schools can address stereotype threat at each of these levels, and they should do so. This article lays out a framework for understanding and dealing with the threat.

(Louis N. Schulze, Jr., FIU Law).

 

 

New: Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Good morning, everyone, and a big thanks to Steven and the ASP Blog crew for inviting me here again.  Every other Tuesday, I will be posting what will be called the "Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight."  In each post, I will highlight a publication from the academic and/ or bar exam support field. 

There will be two categories:  "ASP Foundational Scholarship" and "New Scholarship."  The first category will reintroduce the seminal pieces that developed the generally agreed upon "best practices" in the academic and bar support field.  

The second category of "New Scholarship" is self-explanatory but requires a quick note.  Traditionally, academic and bar support faculty have been reluctant to self-promote their scholarship.  Perhaps arising out of the "ASPish" moniker, this norm demonstrates the humility that sits at the epicenter of who we are as a community.  But, it has also left too much ASP/ Bar scholarship out of the spotlight.  I am hoping that this series can help solve that conundrum.    

Therefore, if you publish some form of scholarship on law school academic/ bar exam support, please send me a link.  I will also promote new scholarship referred or found independently, so if you read a new piece and find it helpful, please let me know.  

The format of the piece is not important.  Books, law review articles, online law review essays, shorter pieces ... all are welcome.  I also welcome suggestions for the ASP Foundational Scholarship category.  If a publication positively contributed to your understanding of our field, such that you think others should be aware of it, please let me know and send a link.  

Later today, I will post the first installment of the ASP Foundational Scholarship series.  No spoilers here, though; you'll have to wait for it.  

(Louis N. Schulze, Jr., FIU Law) 

Keep Writing

It is that time of year again. Many first-year law students are anxiously awaiting grades from their first semester of law school. To all of you, I say: I hope your first semester grades are everything you want them to be.

Regardless, try to maintain perspective. Each grade is but a snapshot of your performance during a “moment” in time and, sometimes, it can feel as if there is no rhyme or reason to how each of those snapshots develop. Students who studied more may not perform as well as expected. Students who studied less may perform better than expected. The exam you thought was your best performance may end up being your worst grade. Similarly, the exam you thought was your worst performance may end up being your best grade.

Whatever your grades are, your feelings about them are valid. It is okay to feel excited about and celebrate your good grades, but do not rest on your laurels (keep doing the work). It is okay to feel frustrated or disappointed about less-than-ideal grades, but do not get stuck in that frustration or disappointment. Process your feelings and then pivot.

Your grades are not the final word on your abilities or the opportunities you will have. They are also in no way indicative of your value as a person or how great of a lawyer you will become. What matters more than a less-than-ideal grade is what you do in response, and that response can make for a great narrative of grit and resilience that you share with, among others, future employers.

If your grades are not everything you want them to be, get to work changing your reality for the spring term. Connect with your ASP faculty and/or staff to discuss your strengths and identify areas for growth, then develop a plan to expand upon the former and work on the latter. Cultivate a growth mindset. Your abilities and skills are not fixed—you can develop and refine them with practice and by leveraging your feedback. One semester of grades does not define you or dictate your story. YOU are the author of your story. Keep writing.

(Victoria McCoy Dunkley)

References:

Eduardo Briceño and Dawn Young, A Growth Mindset for Law School Success, ABA Student Lawyer Blog (Sept. 12, 2017), https://abaforlawstudents.com/2017/09/12/growth-mindset-law-school-success/.

Heidi K. Brown, Law School Grades Are Not Your Story—You Are Your Story, ABA Student Lawyer Blog (Jan. 9, 2020), https://abaforlawstudents.com/2020/01/09/law-school-grades-are-not-your-story-you-are-your-story/.

Save the Date - January 29th Law and Leadership Conference on Bar Licensure

The AASE Bar Advocacy Committee would like to make you aware of an online conference devoted to bar licensure. The Law and Leadership Conference sponsored by Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School is an important annual event that draws scholars, noted judiciary, and practitioners.

Each year, BYU Law School invites leaders on an issue of current importance to discuss how we might change the world for the better using our legal education. Following the historic decision by several states, including Utah, to adopt an emergency diploma privilege in the summer of 2020 and recognizing the known racial, gender, and other biases present in traditional bar examinations, this year’s topic is “Paths to Bar Licensure.” In 2020, a pandemic and global racial upheaval have combined to trigger a reconsideration of bar examinations as the gateway to licensure. In this conference, we will examine the features and shortcomings of the bar examination and other potential paths to bar licensure.

The committee encourages those concerned about the future of the bar exam and entry into the legal profession to attend and participate in this free event. Keynote speakers include Dean Emeritus and Professor Joan Howarth, and Professor Deborah Jones Merritt. Our own Bar Advocacy Committee  Chair, Marsha Griggs, will be a panelist at this event. The ASP voice is crucial to the discussion about the future of bar admissions and the licensure process. We owe it to ourselves and the students we serve to stay in the know on proposed changes to the exam format and coverage and the alternate paths to practice. We hope to see our community continue to engage, on a national scale, in discussion forums like these.

Register for the Conference here. 

Director of Academic Success at University of Baltimore

Director of Academic Success/Professor of the Practice

School of Law

Vacancy Number 301110

Position Type: Faculty position with full, competitive benefits package
Opens: 12/18/20     Closes: Open Until Filled

Salary: Commensurate with qualifications

The University of Baltimore School of Law is a dynamic public institution with a commitment to providing students access to law school and the legal profession. The School of Law seeks a Director of Academic Success who will hold the non-tenured faculty rank of Professor of the Practice. In this 12-month position, s/he will develop programming and teach academic success skills with a student-centered approach. In collaboration with the Director of Bar Success, the Professor/Director will teach and shape the administrative direction of the School of Law’s academic success programming. The Director will be part of the School of Law’s Office of Academic Affairs.

Electronic applications are required.  Before starting or submitting your application, save the documents the academic team requires: Curriculum Vitae and cover letter. PDFs are preferred; Word documents are acceptable.

The duties of the Professor/Director will include: 

• Developing and implementing academic support programming for 1L and 2L students, including programming for at-risk students

• Teaching the School of Law’s highly successful, small-section mandatory academic support course for at-risk 2L students, Rules and Reasoning

• Collaborating with the Director of Bar Success to create and administer programs that support academic and bar exam success

• Collaborating with faculty and staff to identify and support students

• Collecting data regarding academic success

• Providing academic counseling

• Participating in the national community of academic success professionals and ensuring the School of Law is consistent with Best Practices in legal education

• Performing other duties as a member of the Academic Affairs team. 

Key Responsibilities 

Design and teach courses to support law student academic success.

• Teach the School of Law’s small-section mandatory academic support course for at-risk 2L students, Rules and Reasoning

• Collaborate with appropriate faculty committees to propose revisions to existing courses and propose new courses as necessary to address academic success issues

Develop and implement academic skills workshops and programming and counsel students. 

• Act as a liaison between the School of Law and bar exam authorities.

• Plan, coordinate, staff, teach workshops, and work directly with incoming and current law students to support their academic success.

• Offer resources to faculty members regarding teaching techniques and assessments that enhance academic skill-building and legal analysis.

• Advise and assist identified students with course selection and their academic program.

Collect data and stay current on best practices in academic success and bar readiness.

• In connection with other law school faculty and staff members, gather and analyze data on all aspects of academic support programs to help inform and develop them, with a continuing goal of improving students’ success in law school and on the bar exam.   

• Stay abreast and regularly inform the deans and faculty of best practices and trends in law school academic success and bar support programs, and perform other activities in service to the law school, such as committee and task force work related to student academic success. 

• Attend national conferences and participate in the greater community of experts in the field of academic support and readiness for the profession.

• Draft reports, as necessary, regarding student performance, academic skill-building and effective strategies, and other relevant aspects of student academic outcomes.

Support activities in the Office of Academic Affairs such as:

• Exam administration

• Student advising

• Orientation programs for entering students

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Required Qualifications:

Education: A Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school or its equivalent

Experience:

• License to practice law in at least one U.S. state or the District of Columbia

• Prior academic or bar support teaching experience, or an equivalent combination of three years of practice experience and adjunct teaching.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience in academic support, legal writing, or other law school teaching; 

• Scholarship in learning theory and academic support; 

• Experience in the practice of law

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Superior written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Knowledge of law school curriculum and best practices for law teaching. 

• Familiarity with ABA regulations and bar admission requirements. 

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with students, adjunct and full-time faculty, and administrators.

• Creative approach to problem solving 

• Experience implementing new programs with specific, measurable goals.

• Experience working effectively with a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff.

• Experience collecting, interpreting, and analyzing data.  

• Ability to handle confidential information, collaborate with colleagues, and exhibit good judgment when interfacing with students, staff, and faculty.

Please review the following information before you apply. Questions regarding the electronic application should be directed to [email protected].

South Florida Regional ASP Conference Registration and Schedule

South Florida Regional ASP Conference

Schedule and Registration Information

We are pleased to announce the schedule for the first annual South Florida Regional ASP Conference, hosted by Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law.

The conference will be held on Friday, January 29, from noon to 5:00 pm (Eastern time) on Zoom. The conference is free, but you must register in advance. To register, please use this link:

https://nova.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYocuCopz4jGdOsTG9f0mDwRcmhNklq-wii. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Come prepared to engage! In true ASP fashion, we envision this conference as being a place to share ideas, bounce ideas off of each other and get feedback, and leave with new inspiration for our own work! The conference will not operate as a webinar but instead will permit all participants to see and engage with each other in every session.

Conference Schedule

Friday, January 29

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Session 1

Performing a Performance Test – Legal Communication Skill Exercises Based on Performance Test Problems

Gregory R. Bordelon

Associate Professor and Director of Academic Success, University of Maine School of Law

Peer Review Groups for Law Students Writing Research Papers: Providing Community, Constructive Feedback, and Accountability

Patricia M. Trainor

Graduate Writing Specialist, Graduate Writing Lab, Poorvu Center for Teaching & Learning, Yale University

Break from 1:30 pm to 1:45 pm, but the Zoom space will be open for those who wish to continue chatting.

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm: Session 2

Collaborative Essay Drafting with Google Docs (30 minutes)

Katie Tolliver Jones

Director of Academic Success and Assessment, Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law

Using ASP Fellows in a Virtual ASP Office (30 minutes)

Maria Florencia Cornu Laport

Assistant Professor of Academic Success, St. Thomas University School of Law

Break from 2:45 pm to 3:00 pm, but the Zoom space will be open for those who wish to continue chatting.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Session 3 – Community Conversations

Considering the Importance of Trauma-Informed Teaching

Susan Landrum

Assistant Dean, Academic Success & Professionalism, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law

Identity and Intersectionality: Navigating Hierarchies in Legal Academia

Amanda M. Fischer

Visiting Assistant Professor, Academic Resource Center, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

Academic Success and Executive Functioning Skills

Elena Rose Minicucci

Professor of Practice, Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law

4:30 pm: Happy Hour!

If you are free, remain in Zoom to “hang out” and chat with fellow ASPers.

Illusive Teaching

I just got out of class.  An online zoom class, not surprisingly.  But, in reflection of the first class, I had a bit of a surprise.  I did a whole lot of talking and talking and then, even more, talking.  You see, I took a glance at the audio transcript file.  And it was quite an eye-popper. 

I did most of the talking, which means that my students did very little.  

It makes me wonder whether I left enough time in the midst of my words for my students to learn.  I once heard a brilliant teacher say something to the effect that "the less that I talk the more that they [my students] learn."

Of course, as the saying goes, the "proof is in the pudding."  

Which leads to my next surprise.  I try to end classes with asking students one thing that they learned along with one thing that they didn't understand.  Well as you might expect, I didn't leave enough time for the last question because, you guessed it, I spent too much time talking.

But, in response to the first question, what they learned, well, they learned about what I liked (snickers!) and where I ate lunch on the first day of the bar exam (the liquor store since I forgot my lunch), etc.  In other words, it seems like they learned a great deal about me but perhaps not as much about bar preparation, which is the subject of our course.

Lesson learned, especially for online teaching...speak less and listen more.  In short, trust them to learn by learning together, as a team, rather than just trying to pound information into their heads.  I sure learned a lot today.  Next class...my students are going to learn plenty too!  (Scott Johns)

2021 AALS Section on Academic Support Award Winners

This past week many of us attended AALS virtually. In that spirit, I want to honor the award winners within our community. The AALS Section on Academic Support gave two awards this year, to two very deserving women.

Paula Manning, Visiting Professor, McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific

American Association of Law Schools Section on Academic Support Legacy in Leadership Award

At the 2021 meeting, the AALS section on academic support gave Paula Manning the Legac in Leadership Awards. Paula has been instrumental in building and nurturing the discipline of academic support.  Paula is a mentor and guiding force for ASP colleagues across the country. Whatever the topic, Paula has provided guidance and wisdom to countless ASPers on the evolution of their programs, their teaching, their scholarship, and their professional development. Her advice is always insightful and thoughtful, and countless ASPers now possess stronger programs, students, and professional opportunities because of Paula's contributions to our discipline. 

She worked with LSAC as a frequent organizer of early national and regional ASP conferences, and was a driving force behind the creation and evolution of AASE. Put simply, the field of Academic Support has grown stronger through Paula’s energy, passion, and insight.  

Paula's research and scholarship have had a profound impact on the field.  Paula co-authored with Michael Hunter Schwartz the most recent edition of the field-changing Expert Learning for Law Students, wrote a Torts casebook in the Carolina Academic Press “Context and Practice” series, and has produced numerous influential law review articles on such topics as how to inspire creative growth-minded lawyers, and how to give productive feedback to law students.  

Paula is a gifted educator. She has been innovative in her own teaching and has developed strong programs that maximized the potential of her students at numerous schools. Her devotion to students is unparalleled, as she offers feedback that fosters effective, precise, and positive reinforcement. Her scholarship has also influenced many educators by examining core premises of what it means to be an effective legal educator.  Paula's work has promoted progress in ASP and instilled change to law school classroom pedagogy.

Marsha Griggs, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Academic Support and Bar Passage, Washburn University School of Law

American Association of Law Schools Section on Academic Support Trailblazer Award

At the 2021 meeting, the AALS section on Academic Support gave Marsha the Trailblazer Award. Marsha is a uniquely resonant voice in speaking to the current moment, and in leading the charge for change to professional licensure for the future. 

Marsha’s academic writing and conference presentations have moved bar prep into the mainstream of legal education. Most recently, she authored The Bar Exam and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Need for Immediate Action, Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 537(2020), which provided a national voice for bar reform during the global pandemic. This article was followed immediately by another important work: An Epic Fail, which will be published in the upcoming edition of the Howard Law Journal. Additionally, she is a frequent contributor to the Law School Academic Support Blog and has presented at numerous national and regional conferences. She has also had her work cited by numerous national magazines and publications, including The National Jurist, the ABA Journal and Law.com. Her expertise has been sought by boards of law examiners and supreme courts across the nation. Prior to her most recent scholarship, she has published in the SMU Law Review Forum, and the Texas A&M Law Review.

Marsha is a colleague who always looks for opportunities to lend a helping hand. She not only diligently serves her current students and recent graduates at her law school, but assists law graduates across the entire country who seek out her guidance and input on the challenges ahead for alternative paths to licensure and how to improve access, opportunity and diversity in the legal profession.

Tomorrow is Yesterday

When I was a kid, I saw an episode of the TV series Maude that was broadcast on November 1, 1976 – the day before Election Day.  Maude, the assertive main character, was trying to convince everyone to write in Henry Fonda for President.  When her featherbrained neighbor Vivian asked Maude why she was in such a rush to get the idea out, Maude looked at her severely and explained that the election was happening tomorrow.

“Tomorrow?!” exclaimed Vivian.  “And it seems like only yesterday it was Halloween!”

Well, today, with the results of the October bar exam barely in hand for many examinees, we have leapt right back into preparation for the February exam.  Perhaps the final casualty of the Endless Summer is the strict reduction of time to process the relationship between all that happened before the exam and the results that came out of it.  Individuals who just found out in late December or early January that they did not pass have had to decide very quickly whether to register for the February exam.  A California repeat examinee could still register next week, with as few as 32 days left before the exam is administered.  And while many states and law schools have seen an increase in bar pass rates compared to July of 2019, we have entered the February bar study period without some of the data we might ordinarily use to assess the reasons for any changes in passage rates.  At least here in New York, some of the granular data about subject-matter performance on the MBE portion has not been provided, and information about statewide trends have only been reported in the most general terms.  This makes it harder to determine the effects of the delay, of the changes in format and delivery, and of strategies adopted or resources provided in response.

Tomorrow is February?!  It seems like only yesterday it was October!

Thus, even though the February bar exam represents a great stride towards “normalcy” in many jurisdictions – in that it will be delivered on a traditional set date, with typical full UBE content – this will still be an unusual administration, affected by ripples of the pandemic.  Some repeat examinees will be facing a compressed study period, although I have observed that a least a portion of them, perhaps spurred to greater-than-normal pessimism under the circumstances, began preparing prophylactically even before scores were announced.  In any case, those of us who work with repeating graduates may be asked to provide additional support.

More frustrating to me is having to determine what aspects of the support provided to our examinees over the five months between graduation and the October bar would be most advantageously replicated over the next two months.  The extended prep period was, I felt, grueling for all involved, but it provided time and motivation for examinees and teachers alike to try new strategies.  Based on our results, some of these strategies appear to have beneficial.  But which ones?  And are they replicable between now and the end of February, or were they successful because, and not in spite of, the long stretch of time before the October administration?  Without all the information I wish I had, this feels in some ways similar to what many of us had to do this summer: reacting to a novel situation without certainty, and ending up (very likely) relying in part on intuition and extraordinary effort.

Hopefully, knock on wood, fingers crossed, things won't feel this way come summer 2021.  For now, the one thing I am fairly certain played an important part in my examinees' performance that is likely replicable now was the increased sense of camaraderie and support that they reported as a result of the very high-touch summer and fall.  With so many changes so frequently, and with unbelievable levels of anxiety among bar studiers (who on the whole are not typically known for tranquil, detached attitudes), I initiated what would turn out to be bi-weekly (or more frequent) Zoom meetings to pass along news, share strategies, and provide opportunities for feedback.  Already feeling isolated by the pandemic, the students reported that these meetings helped them feel connected to each other and to the school, and it appears they took more advantage of the resources we made available (including lots of one-on-one meetings with me).  This was kind of a form of intrusive counseling. It seems to have worked, at least under those recent conditions, which in some ways are still ongoing.  So, while I am still hoping to develop more clarity about how other specifics contributed to examinees' performance, this is one lesson I took from yesterday that I can apply today to help my examinees prepare for tomorrow.

[Bill MacDonald]

Don't Only Rely on the Results

Winter break includes the wonderful benefits of a work break, time with family, and college football bowl games.  Media and fans began degrading bowl games again this year after numerous players chose to not play in their team's bowl game.  Those media and fans clearly did not talk to my kids while we watched the Montgomery Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, Liberty Bowl, and numerous other college exhibitions.  I do agree with my kids that constant college football is awesome, so we watched games throughout the break.

Announcers talked about the impending playoff games throughout each of the games.  A major storyline for the upcoming Ohio State-Clemson game was how Clemson coach Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State 11th on his coaches' poll ballot, well outside the top 4.  For context, COVID caused disruptions in college football like everything else.  However, the disruptions weren't uniform.  Individual conferences made different decisions based on what the conference thought was safe.  The Big 10 conference, which includes Ohio State, originally decided not to play a fall season.  However, the SEC, Big 12, and ACC (which includes Clemson) decided to start in September.  Teams in the latter conferences played approximately 9-10 games.  The Big 10 eventually reversed course, but the teams would play fewer games.  Ohio State only played 6 games prior to the playoff.  Swinney said a team that only plays 6 games shouldn't be ranked with the teams that played 9-10, so he ranked them lower.  Then, the game happened.

The game proceeded like any MBE question or prime-time drama.  Ohio State beat Clemson from the opening whistle.  The game wasn't particularly close.  Critics screamed from keyboards about Swinney's ridiculous ranking.  Clearly, Ohio State was far better than the #11 ranking on his last ballot.  He clearly couldn't evaluate teams, and he probably provided motivation for Ohio State to prove him wrong.  Critics were quick to use the game results to prove Swinney wrong, but was he wrong?  Is it possible that Ohio State is both one of the 4 best college football teams in the country and also not deserving the ranking because they hadn't played enough games?  I don't think the two sentiments are mutually exclusive, but critics seem to rely too heavily on the game's results to disprove his ranking.  If Clemson won, does that mean his ranking was legitimate?  The post hoc analysis seems to rely heavily on the result to either prove or disprove his claim when his claim focused more on deserving to be there and not ability to win.

The playoff storyline wasn't the only instance of relying too heavily on results.  In a pro football game, the Las Vegas Raiders were losing by 2 points late in the game.  Instead of scoring an easy touchdown with a minute left, they proceeded to kneel down multiple times to kick a field goal with 19 seconds left.  The coach said he didn't want the opposing team to have enough time to score.  Statistically, it was the best decision.  A team shouldn't be able to score in 19 seconds, but of course the opposing team scored in a few quick plays.  Critics pounced after the game saying the Raiders coach made the wrong decision.  He made the statistically correct decision that didn't work.  Does the result inherently mean the decision was wrong?  If they score a touchdown, and the other team also scores because they have more time, would that be the wrong decision.  I would argue he made the right call, but the decision didn't work.  That doesn't make his decision wrong.

The idea of relying too much on results applies to law students as well.  Grades are about to come out, and some students will be disappointed.  Those same students made decisions throughout the semester about what, when, and how to study.  Do low grades mean the study decisions were wholly incorrect?  I don't think so.  Grades are only 1 feedback device to analyze.  I help students create new plans every semester.  Some of them integrate more self-regulated learning, quizzes, reading, and/or review.  Integrating self-regulated learning isn't bad just because grades didn't end up exactly as desired.  Making the right decision doesn't always lead to the desired outcome, but the decision to be a better learner is still the right decision.

I encourage all students to evaluate progress.  Grades are a good place to start, but students should also look at how often they read, whether they made outlines, how many practice questions they completed, whether they sought feedback, and any other tool to determine whether they were prepared walking into the exam.  Anything can happen during a 3 hour exam.  Computers crash and fact patterns surprise students.  Grades may be important, but grades are only a snapshot of performance during a 3 hour time block.  Focus on the process before the exam to determine where to improve.

Results provide feedback, and I want everyone to continually try to improve.  However, results aren't the full picture because bad results can sometimes come from good decisions.  Focus on preparation to continue to improve through the law school marathon.

(Steven Foster)

ASP Presentations at AALS

It is AALS Annual Meeting week and the Section on Academic Support is holding 3 programs and the business meeting.  This year the section is holding 1 main program and 2 co-sponsored programs.  

Main Program

Wed, Jan. 6, 2:45 pm - 5:30 pm EST - Section on Academic Support and Real Estate Transactions Joint Program: "The Changing Architecture of Legal Education: Real Estate Transactions as a Case Study."

Co-sponsored 1

Thurs, Jan. 7, 2:45 pm - 4 pm EST - Empirical Study of Legal Education & the Legal Profession, Academic Support, PreLegal Education & Admission to Law School, and Student Services: "An Empirical Look at Influences on Access to Legal Education & the Profession."

Co-sponsored 2

Sat, Jan 9, 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm EST - Section for the Law School Dean and Academic Support: "COVID-19 and the Bar Exam: Supporting our Graduates."

Section Business Meeting

The ASP section business meeting will be held on Wed., Jan. 6, at 5:30 pm EST immediately following the main program.  The business meeting is NOT part of the main program login.  The main program platform does not allow for discussion.